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Bemidji St. notebook: Groskreutz named NSIC player of week

Bemidji State junior Brie Groskreutz was named the NSIC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Beavers in tournament play in Nebraska.

"I'm excited. I feel like it is a very well deserved honor," said head coach Laurie Bitter. "She has worked hard, the team has worked hard and this is just another example of when you work hard and train hard, good things do happen. This is just one of many good things to come this year."

Groskreutz was named to the Best Western/Runza Fall Classic All-Tournament Team last weekend after helping the Beavers to a 3-1 record in the tournament. She led the team in digs with 68 and posted the second most set assists (10) and third most kills (24). The matches were the first since Groskreutz broke her hand four matches into the season in 2008 and earned a medical redshirt.

"The award feels good," Groskreutz said. "Defense is the main thing for our team this year. I think defense wins matches and that is definitely what won matches last weekend. After that first match our team really came together and played well. We have a lot of athletes on this team and we have a lot of things to look forward to this season."

The Beavers (3-1, 0-0 NSIC) are on a nine-set winning streak and have posted three victories in a row.

The last time BSU won nine consecutive sets was Sept. 3-10, 2004.

BSU travels to the Florida Southern Classic this weekend.

The Beavers play No. 14 Florida Southern today at noon and St. Leo (Fla.) at 6 p.m.

BSU wraps up Classic play Saturday against Nebraska-Omaha at 10 a.m. and Eckerd (Fla.) at 1 p.m.

Brianna Duff and Dustin Kroeplin have been selected Beaver Pride Athletes of the Week after outstanding athletic performances during the week of Aug. 23-29.

Duff, a midfielder for the BSU soccer team, had a breakout game last Friday. The sophomore netted two goals and picked up two assists to lead the Beavers to a 7-0 season-opening victory over Cardinal Stritch University.

The BSU soccer team plays two games in Iowa this weekend. The Beavers play Northwestern Friday at noon and Dordt College Saturday at noon.

Kroeplin, a freshman running back on the BSU football team, rushed for 108 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 attempts in his collegiate debut as Bemidji State defeated Minot State 47-20 last Thursday.

Kroeplin's first 100-yard game led a Beaver ground game that piled up 293 yards--the team's best output since it gained 352 Oct. 15, 2005 at Minnesota-Crookston.

With the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver just around the corner, Bemidji State University women's hockey goaltender Zuzana Tomcikova has been training in her native country of Slovakia in preparation for the games.

The Slovakian women's national ice hockey team is slated to face-off against the Russian women's national ice hockey team this weekend in a three game series.

"I think it is a great opportunity for us to play with such a strong team," said Tomcikova. "The games against Russia will show us some of the things that we can improve."

Tomcikova is set to play the first game on Friday, which starts at 3 p.m. (8 a.m. Central). The other games are on Saturday at 3 p.m. (8 a.m. Central) and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. Central).

Tomcikova is the second BSU women's hockey Olympian. Nina Ziegenhals, who played for the Beavers from 2003-2006 played for the German women's national team.